News 07:00

BULLETIN 28 November 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa amends the deadline for the Madlanga Commission’s interim report
# AfriForum says Parliament undermines environmental protection
# And, at least 94 are dead, and hundreds are missing in the Hong Kong inferno

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry’s term, and its interim report is now due on 17 December. The commission had warned that ongoing delays are disrupting its schedule and could prevent submission of its interim report. The commission is currently in phase two of proceedings, where witnesses are responding to allegations made against them. Hilda Senthumule, who is responsible for Crime Detection and Forensic Services within SAPS, will take the stand today to speak about the 121 dockets attached to the political killings task team.

# AfriForum has expressed concern at Parliament’s portfolio committee on Minerals and Petroleum Resources’ proposal to shorten timelines for environmental authorisations. It says this could cause short-term economic gains to overshadow the impact of mining on the environment and communities. AfriForum’s Marais de Vaal says the committee’s call for quicker mining approvals will have disastrous consequences for water resources, agricultural land, and the long-term well-being of rural communities:

# The Public Servants Association has urged government to stem the loss of skilled educators, restore dignity to the teaching profession, and ensure that every learner has access to quality education. Minister of Basic Education in a parliamentary reply earlier revealed that more than 30-thousand educators have left South Africa’s public schools in the past five years. The PSA calls on the Department to urgently implement an educator retention strategy, addressing workload, safety, and salary disparities, and to consider deploying the almost 13-thousand, unemployed educators on the National Recruitment Database to vacant posts.

# The DA in Tshwane says it will lodge a case of fraud against deputy mayor Eugene Modise. The metro commissioned an investigation into Modise and Triotic Protection Services earlier this year, after accusations that the deputy mayor was benefiting from a company doing business with the metro. A final investigation report into the matter was tabled before the council yesterday. The DA’s Jacqui Uys says the report confirms that Modise is in continual breach of the code of conduct for councillors:

# At least 94 people have been killed, and police have arrested three people on suspicion of manslaughter, after a huge fire engulfed a high-rise residential complex in Hong Kong. Authorities said nearly 300 people are also missing following the blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. A further 76 people are in hospital in a critical condition, with around 900 people also in shelters as a result of the blaze. Hong Kong leader John Lee said on Thursday the government will set up a 700-million-rand fund to help residents.

# Golf: South Africa’s Samuel Simpson shot an eight-under-par 64 to lead the Fitch & Leedes PGA Championship after the first round at St Francis Links in the Eastern Cape. He is two strokes clear of compatriot Hennie du Plessis following his 66. Four players are tied in third, South Africans Bryce Easton, Hayden Griffiths, and Ruan Groenewald, and England’s Joe Long. Simpson says a clear game plan is important on this course:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-14-cents and the euro at 19-rand-86-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-68-cents and Bitcoin trades at 90-thousand-931-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-191-dollars-34-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 62-dollars-65-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….